If you’re not already listening to the GaryVee Audio Experience Podcast, I recommend starting immediately. Former immigrant turned multi-millionaire Gary Vaynerchuk offers some of the best advice I’ve heard in succeeding in today’s social media and technology-driven society, including why so many Americans are turning to the gig economy to complete tasks and make a living.

Long hours and late nights detrimentally impact one’s ability to drive safely. The longer a driver has been awake, or the greater the number of hours he or she has worked, the more likely an accident may occur. Some professional drivers, including operators of commercial tractor-trailers governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, have traditionally been subject to hour restrictions. These regulations prohibit drivers from working more than a certain number of hours without proper rest.

A recent rash of attacks on Uber and Lyft drivers raises questions regarding the safety of these gig economy workers. Drivers must often work under dangerous circumstances, including chauffeuring complete strangers, many of whom are intoxicated and thus need a designated driver, to unfamiliar destinations at all times of the day and night.

The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) recently revised its wage and hour poster to include information on the misclassification of workers as independent contractors. As noted in our previous legal alert on this issue, the revised poster includes language informing workers on the importance of knowing the difference between being an employee versus a contractor “because employees (unless exempt) are entitled to the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay protections.”